I
bought this cool shirt which shows the Archipelago of the Gambier
Islands. This will give you a better idea of some of the places we
are visiting. Mangareava is the main island with the village of
Rikitea, and Mount Duff and Mount Mokoto. It is about 15 miles
across from East to West and 18 miles North to South on the outer
barrier reefs, which is that line around the outer edges. Our
favorite spots are the island is Taravai to the West and the tiny
atoll of Tekava to East and the atoll of Kouaku on the SE side. Double click on it to zoom in.
We
met up with our Austrian friends on the Wharram Catamaran Pakia
Tea, Tom, Sonja and their son Keanu. We had last seen them in
the Tuamotus. Their boat is all electric, including their propulsion
motors and their cooking stove, so they have a huge bank of batteries
and a ton of solar panels. That is Taravai in the background.
We
spent a bunch of time together. I am tickling Keanu, so he is
laughing his head off. He is 6.
Keanu
hanging out with his buddy, Mike.
Both
Tom and Sonja are marine biologists, so of course they love scuba
diving. They kindly invited us to go on a dive with them. Here is
Tom with his underwater camera set up to take some macro photos of
the coral.
This
photo, courtesy of them, of Mike pointing out something to Shelly on
the dive we did together at the island of Makaroa, near the South end
of the archipelago.
Maybe
it was that shark swimming just behind us now!
They
taught us that sharks on a reef mean a healthy eco system. The
majority of them are non aggressive. This one is just a grey reef
shark with a Sharksucker Remora clinging to his belly.
Tom
has graciously allowed me to post some of his amazing photos he took
while we were diving together. They are studying the coral here on
this reef and will come back in 3 years to check the same area again,
to see the differences. I have tried to identify his photos in my
Reef Creature guide book, but don't quote me, because I am not the
authority. This is Brain coral. (Tom)
These
are live coral polyps. (Tom's photo)
This
is a close up of disc coral, (I think) (Tom)
Macro
shot of possibly some Zoanthids coral (Tom)
All
those red dots are the eyes of an Iridescent Scallop (Tom)
The
only fish in my ID book that comes close to these guys, are the
Reticulated Dascyllus, but it doesn't say they live in French
Polynesia, so maybe not. They hang around these coral blooms and
when something scares them, they dive into the coral and disappear
into safety. (Sonya)
This
is a Dot and Dash Butterfly fish with two Teardrop Butterfly fish
(Sonya)
This
itsy bitsy puffer looking fish is probably at Solander Toby. They
only grow up to 4 inches and these guys were quite small. (Tom or
Sonya)
A
white spotted Puffer maybe, diving under a rock. (Sonya or me?)
Occasionally
we have to avert course to avoid running into jelly fish (mine)
That
is a goat fish in the front with a little protrusion that he sticks
into the sand to stir it up and find food. Also is another Teardrop
butterfly fish behind him, and Sargent fish with the stripes on the
left. (mine)
We
watched the full moon rise over the NE atoll.
After
our dive, we sailed over to the West side of Akamaru and watched some
nasty looking clouds roll over the archipelago as the sun was setting
in the West.
The
clouds are moving in closer. Good chance of rain! The yellow boat
is Mango.
And
down it came, by the bucket load!
But
the rainbows always come out after the rain!
On
a windless day the sea is calm and glassy, reflecting the clouds. We
were on our way to Kouaku atoll to meet up with Pakia Tea, Pitufa
and Mango for a beach party.
Sophie
and Eric on the left from the boat Mango and Keanu on the
right all building sand castles.
The
rest of us were gathering wood to have a beach fire. Tom is standing
and Nick, from Mango, is using the saw and his wife Isabel is heading
off to find more wood. That is the East side of Akamaru in the back
ground.
Tom
and Sonja, who is wrapping sticks with bread dough to roast in the
fire. This is apparently an Austrian thing called Stick Bread. Yum!
Isabel,
Nick, Mike, Birgit, Sonja, Tom and Christian all enjoying that beach
fire! This was our going away party for Pakia Tea, because
they will head for the Marquesas, then Hawaii, mainland USA and then
Mexico. Mango is from Germany (Nick and Isabel), but both
Pakia Tea and Pitufa (Birgit and Christian) are from
Austria. All our sweet, fun loving friends out here on the edge of
the earth!
A
big thunderhead builds out over the ocean, but luckily, no chance of
raining on our party, just making beautiful scenery!
The
fire has died down so now we are ready to cook. Tom speared those
fish earlier in the day! But the sausages came from the store in
Rikitea. ;-)
It
was a most amazing sunset that day with the rays of the sunlight
beaming over the horizon.
Its
getting later, the sky is turning orange and our dinner is almost
ready!
The
kids finally quit playing in the sand to come and eat (after mom
demanded it!) Keanu, Eric and Sophie behind Isabel. And a Bermejo
sunset, where the sea turns the same color as the sky (La Paz word).
Pakia
Tea anchored by Akamaru island is at the end of the rainbow! We gave
them lots of pointers and told them to hug our friends in Mexico when
they get there! They are off to visit the Socorro islands off Mexico
to see whales and manta rays. Fair winds and following seas our
friends, hope to meet you in another anchorage somewhere on this
ocean planet!
Currently Pakia Tea is in the Sea of Cortez, our old stomping grounds. They will be studying Manta Rays at the Revieajallos islands off the Mexican coast too. To
see more photos and find out about what marine life Tom and Sonja are
studying from Pakia Tea go to their web site
www.planet-ocean.at
No comments:
Post a Comment